He and co-driver John Kennard return to an event they have won three times previously and Paddon, the 2011 Production World Rally champion, intends posting times to eclipse those set by the front-running overseas drivers. Particularly where Esapekka Lappi, of Finland, is concerned.
''He is a guy we have to target when we go back to Europe so it would be nice to set competitive times compared to his,'' Paddon said.
''We know what his car is like and while it is probably superior to ours, we know we've got a good package that probably suits the Whangarei roads better.''
Lappi, the top seed, is competing in New Zealand for the first time in a Skoda Fabia Super 2000-spec car similar to that Paddon will use in the two Europe-based WRC2 events he recently confirmed.
The second round of the New Zealand Rally Championship is held in conjunction with the opening Asia Pacific Rally Championship event.
Headlined by foreign drivers, NZRC field will be split due to vehicle eligibility under FIA rules. Several of the international rule-eligible cars will run at the head of the field while the remainder and majority of the field will follow behind in a subsidiary field.
Paddon, of Geraldine, will head that line-up driving a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9, which is not compliant with the international rules due to performance modifications that take its eligibility outside the group N (production) specification.
The new situation, brought about by changes to NZRC regulations, has resulted in the the former premier group N production car category widened to the new Super Rally class incorporating group N and R4-spec cars such as Paddon's.
He and his team are feeling much better prepared than before the Otago Rally when they had just finished more than 1000 hours of work rebuilding the Evo 9 and developing it from group N to R4-spec.
''I feel we've made very good developments with the Stadium Cars Evo 9 in terms of suspension, diff and brakes,'' Paddon said.
After their opening-round victory there last month, he and Kennard have 44 points.
Defending NZRC champion Richard Mason and co-driving wife Sara, of Masterton, are second overall with 32 points but have struggled with the Whangarei roads previously.
Third-placed (21 points) Ben Hunt and co-driver Tony Rawstorn will run their group N specification Subaru STI with the international entrants but will still be eligible for NZRC points.
Dunedin's Emma Gilmour will competitively debut her new Suzuki Swift Maxi after using it as the course-opening zero car at the Otago Rally. She is seeded fifth in the national rally field.
She will join the other NZRC and APRC competitors contesting 16 special stages, covering a competitive distance of 288.16km. Oamaru's Scott Simpson is driving his Mitsubishi Evo 8 in the Rally Challenge class for those who wish to compete at championship level, for one day only, in a generally older generation rally schedule compliant car.
